Conrad Murray is out of jail

Conrad Murray, the former doctor jailed for causing the death of Michael Jackson through negligent treatment, was released from jail yesterday after serving nearly two years of a four-year sentence. According to reports, a change in Californian law allowed his jail time to be cut down significantly, though when he was convicted it was actually predicted he’d be freed much sooner because of overcrowding in the state’s jail system.

Confirming he was out of prison, Murray’s legal rep Valerie Wass told reporters, simply, that her client was “elated to be out of there”. Murray, who continues to proclaim his innocence, despite admitting to giving Jackson daily doses of the surgical anaesthetic propofol as a cure for insomnia, a practice condemned by pretty much any doctor asked, complained at various points about his treatment in jail.

The ex-doc, who previously practiced medicine in three American states, no longer has a licence to practice, though recent reports suggested he planned to appeal to the medical board in at least one of the states where he previously worked. He is also still appealing his 2011 conviction, and while the appeal court has questioned the value of revisiting the case, Wass said that a successful appeal hearing could lead to a cut in Murray’s wider sentence and help him repair his shattered reputation.

In the short term, though, Wass said her client planned to spend time with his girlfriend and children. She confirmed the ex-medic had done quite a bit of writing while in prison, but said she didn’t know whether he planned to publish any of it. Murray has given some media interviews about his involvement in Jackson’s 2009 death, but never formally testified, in either his criminal trial or the Jackson family v AEG court battle.